The DTH (Direct To Home) satellite TV broadcasting had started 30 years ago in the Soviet Union, where the Ekran DTH system was first launched. As a result, the Central Soviet TV had become accessible for another 20 million viewers. Therefore, coverage of the USSR's territoty for Soviet TV channels had increased from 20% to 65%.

The Hotbird 8 satellite was launched on board an International Launch Services Proton Breeze M , from Baikonur in Kazakhstan. The new satellite will replace the Hotbird-3, which will be moved to a new, unnamed, location.